Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

After leaving the Repulse Bay villa area, Wang Feng hailed a taxi on the roadside and inquired about how to get to Xiao Rizi by boat. The driver told him to go to the Royal Wharf to inquire, and the vehicle headed towards the Royal Wharf.

Wang Feng didn't want to go through the proper procedures, nor did he want to leave any evidence of his extramarital affair. He planned to use money to pave the way and go directly to his extramarital affair by illegal means.

Repulse Bay is not far from Royal Pier, only about nine kilometers away. The driver arrived in a little over half an hour.

After paying the fare, Wang Feng arrived at the Royal Wharf. He was unfamiliar with the area and didn't know anyone in the management, so he had no idea who to ask for help.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Feng went directly to one of the foremen carrying bags, offered him a cigarette, and asked with a smile in fluent standard Cantonese:

"Brother, I want to ask you something."

The manager was a burly man in his thirties with a full beard. Seeing the newcomer dressed in a suit and offered him expensive cigarettes, he didn't put on airs. He took the cigarettes and, somewhat warily, asked:

"What do you want to know?"

Wang Feng laughed and explained, "Brother, I wanted to ask if there have been any boats going to Xiao Rizi from Royal Wharf these past few days. Who's in charge of this? Could you introduce me to the person in charge here? Don't worry, you'll get your share of the benefits."

Before the burly man could speak, Wang Feng took out a hundred Hong Kong dollars from his pocket and handed it to him.

Looking at the solid HK$100 in his hand, the burly man was overjoyed. He stuffed the money into his pocket and his gaze toward Wang Feng became much more pleasing.

"There's a boat going to Xiao Rizi at 8 a.m. the day after tomorrow. If you want to go, you probably won't have time to complete the formalities. I think you should wait for the next one."

Upon hearing that a ship would be available the day after tomorrow, Wang Feng was overjoyed and took out another hundred Hong Kong dollars to hand over.

"Brother, my mistress is due to give birth in a few days, it's an emergency, there's no time to complete the formalities. Could you please inform your manager here? If it works out, I'll give you this amount; even if it doesn't, I'll still give you this amount."

Wang Feng made a five-pointer and then a two-pointer, meaning it would be five hundred Hong Kong dollars, not two hundred Hong Kong dollars.

When the burly man saw how generous Wang Feng was, giving him two hundred Hong Kong dollars right off the bat, and an additional five hundred Hong Kong dollars after the deal was done, it was like several months' salary for him.

Moreover, this person's concubine is about to give birth, which is not a big deal. He might earn another five hundred Hong Kong dollars by informing him, or at least two hundred Hong Kong dollars. No matter how you look at it, he won't lose money on this deal.

Taking the hundred Hong Kong dollars, the burly man said directly, "Alright, you seem to be a man of honor. I'll go call Third Master over, but let me make it clear beforehand, I can't guarantee this will work out."

"No problem, brother, don't worry. Even if it doesn't work out, I'll still give you two hundred Hong Kong dollars," Wang Feng said with a simple and honest smile.

"Wait."

The burly man nodded in satisfaction and headed towards the Royal Dock's office area.

Watching the burly man's retreating figure, Wang Feng smiled with satisfaction. Money is truly a wonderful thing; 99% of problems can be solved with money, and it's the last thing he lacks.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the burly man walked towards him with a middle-aged man in a suit and tie.

This middle-aged man was rather short, only a little over 1.6 meters tall, with a fat head and big ears, and he was also bald.

The two men approached Wang Feng, and the burly man introduced him: "Kid, this is Master Hu, the manager of our Royal Wharf here."

Old Master Hu sized up Wang Feng, his tone arrogant: "Kid, I heard your concubine is about to give birth?"

Wang Feng nodded and smiled, "Third Master Hu, may I have a word with you in private?"

"Come with me."

Uncle Hu wasn't afraid of anyone causing trouble on their territory. Even if someone did, he wasn't afraid because he always carried heavy weapons with him.

Wang Feng followed Master Hu to a secluded corner. Without saying a word, he took out two thousand Hong Kong dollars and handed them to Master Hu.

"Master Hu, my concubine is due to give birth in the next few days, and I really don't have time to complete the formalities. Please do me a favor, Master Hu."

Uncle Hu took the money, counted it, and saw that it was a full two thousand Hong Kong dollars. He showed a barely perceptible smile, but then his expression turned greedy.

"Hey kid, I heard from Big Dog that you just gave him seven hundred Hong Kong dollars?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Feng immediately realized that this guy was greedy and simply didn't have enough spare money.

Thinking of this, he pretended to be hesitant, then took out another thousand Hong Kong dollars from his pocket and said:

"Uncle Hu, the normal ticket price to Xiao Ri Zi is only three hundred Hong Kong dollars. I'll give you ten times that price. Once we get to Xiao Ri Zi, I'll give you another one thousand Hong Kong dollars. This is the highest price I can offer."

Seeing that he had squeezed out another two thousand Hong Kong dollars, Master Hu was overjoyed. Adding the two hundred Hong Kong dollars that Big Dog had given him earlier, he had earned four thousand two hundred Hong Kong dollars this time.

He was also opportunistic; if Big Dog hadn't made seven hundred Hong Kong dollars from this man simply by giving a brief report, he wouldn't have offered such a high price.

The shipping route from the Royal Dock to Xiao Rizi is managed on a rotating basis. This year it just so happens to be his turn to be in charge. They want to make money during his tenure, and one of their main sources of income is to send people on illegal boats.

Taking the money, counting it to confirm it was exactly one thousand Hong Kong dollars, no more, no less, Uncle Hu nodded in satisfaction, patted Wang Feng on the shoulder, and laughed loudly:

"Haha, brother, you know this doesn't follow the proper procedures. I'm just using your money to do your bidding."

"Don't worry, brother. Now that I've taken your money, I'll make sure I get things done perfectly."

"Come find me here before 8 a.m. the day after tomorrow. I'll arrange a comfortable spot for you, what do you think?"

"No problem, it's a pleasure to cooperate. When I get to Xiao Ri Zi, I will definitely hand over the remaining one thousand Hong Kong dollars with both hands," Wang Feng said with a smile.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you. Since you haven't gone through the proper procedures, I can't issue you a boat ticket. But don't worry, I'll be here the day after tomorrow morning, and I guarantee you'll be able to board the ship," Master Hu explained with a smile.

"No problem, I trust Uncle Hu's character. I'll come first thing the day after tomorrow."

Wang Feng wasn't afraid of being scammed by the bald fat man. He knew without a doubt that the man wasn't the only one running illegal boats. If he didn't even have this much credibility, his illegal boat business wouldn't last long.

If this fatso dares to lie to him and waste his time, then he'll have no choice but to pay with his life.

After exchanging a few more polite words with Master Hu, Wang Feng paid the agreed-upon five hundred Hong Kong dollars to the foreman, then left Royal Pier, took a taxi, and returned to Villa No. 6 in Repulse Bay.